Still poor passing game. Compared with Slater and Boyd who have ball skills like a 5/8 he has the ball skills of a winger.

He has a good passing game for a fullback and we would've done better last year if he'd used it more. His passing game will improve over time just like those of Slater and Boyd if he starts to use it again instead of ball hogging.

Still poor passing game. Compared with Slater and Boyd who have ball skills like a 5/8 he has the ball skills of a winger.

He has a good passing game for a fullback and we would've done better last year if he'd used it more. His passing game will improve over time just like those of Slater and Boyd if he starts to use it again instead of ball hogging.

When a guy looks at space and his first instinct is to break through the gap himself i dont class him as a ball player. He has never not done this.

Still poor passing game. Compared with Slater and Boyd who have ball skills like a 5/8 he has the ball skills of a winger.

He has a good passing game for a fullback and we would've done better last year if he'd used it more. His passing game will improve over time just like those of Slater and Boyd if he starts to use it again instead of ball hogging.

When a guy looks at space and his first instinct is to break through the gap himself i dont class him as a ball player. He has never not done this.

As a fullback you need both to survive as a top player

Most fullbacks who come from a fullback background running game would be the first thing you develop so natural instinct would make you look at run first

Slater's ball playing skills developed as he got older , Tedesco may get better as well

Also the threat of a good running game as a fullback creates space and helps create the ball playing aspect of your game

The players filling the roles of hooker, halfback, five-eighth and fullback form the backbone of any rugby league team, and hence the four positions have become known collectively as the team's spine. It is plain to see that a team's hopes of NRL premiership glory are slim if it doesn't have quality players in these vital positions.

The 2018 NRL season will open with more spines having been adjusted than in the local chiropractor's office. With the players settling into their new colours, ESPN has taken a new scientific approach to determining which team came out on top after the great halves shuffle We have gathered five key statistics from the 2017 season, averaged them out per game played and totalled those figures to give a definitive number.

Melbourne Storm, last year's premiers come out on top, even after losing Cooper Cronk to Sydney Roosters. Statistically at least, the Storm lose very little with Brodie Croft slipping on the purple No. 7 jersey.

More surprising was the position taken up by last year's beaten grand finalists, North Queensland Cowboys. Any spine boasting Michael Morgan and Johnathan Thurston would seem to be worthy of a more lofty ranking, but Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville let the team down statistically -- particularly Coote's running metres.

The Panthers slip into second place after welcoming high-performing five-eighth James Maloney from the Sharks. Fullback Dylan Edwards gives them a boost as well with his ability to run the ball.

Some of the best NRL vertebrae. Getty Images
The Rabbitohs are surprisingly high on the list, but their fourth position owes a lot to the way Greg Inglis played in 2016. After a season on the sidelines, it will be interesting to see whether he will be back to his best.

Of course, a high-quality spine does not necessarily guarantee premiership success; New Zealand Warriors were solid proof of this last season, when they boasted one of the best spines ever assembled yet still finished the campaign just two wins above the wooden spoon.

RL is a sport where statistics mean jack squat. I always laugh at that clown on chanel nine who spews stat after stat - most of which have little bearing on the outcome of the game he is attempting to predict. The stats calculator thing on fox is equally as useless.

Spines are not the be all and end all of results. The pack has just as much influence.